Games User Research

About

UX Researcher: SI 311 - Games and UX

January 06, 2025 - March 11, 2025

This case study was completed as part of the Games and UX elective course at UMSI, which explores the role of user experience in the video game industry. Our project focused on applying rigorous UX research methods to a real game, with the goal of identifying design opportunities and advocating for meaningful change. I completed this project with 3 others, the fantastic Ella McCauley, Nina Nguyen, and Ting Ting Li.

Steps

1 Problem Definition
2 Research Plan
3 User Interviews

4 Interview Synthesis
5 Game Updates
6 Case Study Presentation

Brief

Present a research-backed pitch to a hypothetical stakeholder (publisher, developer, etc.) to advocate for an update or remake. Conduct user research for to identify user pain points, opportunities, and unmet needs.

Problem Definition

Where are users Struggling?

The world of Stardew Valley co-op play is alive and well, and has become one of the most popular ways to enjoy the game. Sharing a farm with friends offers a low-stakes, collaborative environment, but also introduces unique challenges. Across online communities and through our own gameplay, we observed recurring frustrations specific to co-op mechanics.To explore these challenges in depth and understand how Stardew Valley could better support its co-op player base, our team developed a guiding hypothesis and research plan.

Screenshots of blog threads with opinions on co-op play

Hypothesis

We expect players to face consistent UX challenges when engaging in co-op play, based on both personal experience and sentiment from the Stardew Valley Reddit community. Early themes include frustration with shared currency, time synchronization, and limitations based on which device hosts the farm. Through user surveys and interviews, we aim to identify pain points and uncover opportunities to design improved co-op experiences—ones that better support player needs, coordination, and group engagement.

Issues with time Passing

Users feel that time passes extremely quickly in co-op mode, as time does not pause when entering menus and cutscenes, like on single player.

issues on Where the farm is hosted

Players with a co-op farm with others can only play on that farm when the host is online. The host can play at anytime without any other players.

Unable to share in game currency

Game currency cannot be shared with other farm members. Items cannot be shared without dropping them or using a shared chest.

RESEARCH PLAN

Looking for good data

To collect the research we need, we devised a 3 step plan for gathering general data and finding participants for a full user interview. Our target demographic was people aged 18-22 who have played Stardew Valley in co-op mode before. This is a very popular demographic for Stardew Valley, and was the easiest to collect on a college campus.

Develop a Screening survey

We began by designing a survey to collect baseline sentiment and screen potential interview participants. The survey included demographic questions aligned with our inclusion criteria and prompts about general co-op gameplay experiences. Participants could also opt into a follow-up interview by leaving their contact information.

run a pilot user interview

Using responses from the survey, we conducted a pilot interview to test and refine our interview script. This helped us identify gaps in our questioning and adjust the interview flow to better uncover player behaviors and frustrations.

Conduct 5+ user interviews

After finalizing our script, we conducted interviews with at least five co-op players. These interviews focused on understanding user motivations, habits, and pain points in multiplayer gameplay. All interviews were recorded and transcribed for later synthesis, with informed consent from each participant.

User Interviews

What were the findings?

We were able to interview 7 total participants. Using the screening survey data, we were able to gather that a majority of players play on PC, so our research findings will focus on PC issues that will likely transfer to different platforms (further testing would be needed to confirm this). We also learned that gender was even across the board, the interviewees play anywhere from weekly to every 6 months, and there is a general element of satisfaction with gameplay with these players. These findings help us understand if there may be any bias in our interview results, and help give a base of population understanding while reviewing the transcripts of the interviews.

Interview synthesis

Coding the interview

To begin our synthesis process, we first coded each user interview transcript. Coding involved identifying and labeling recurring user thoughts, themes, and experiences across participants. This allowed us to easily compare responses and surface patterns in player sentiment. These codes formed the foundation for our next steps, helping us identify the most common frustrations, needs, and opportunities within co-op gameplay.

Interview transcript with colored quotes

Affinity wall

Using the coded interviews from each participant, we created a large affinity wall to organize and synthesize user insights. Each coded quote was grouped by shared pain points, values, and experiences, allowing us to identify patterns in the co-op player experience. Through this process, we uncovered a range of user sentiments and highlighted two key areas that were both frequently mentioned and offered clear opportunities for improvement in future game updates.

The big findings

3/7 players wish sharing items with other people was more efficient

“It's also hard to share items between people . . . you have to open your inventory and drag out all the other stuff.”

“It’s kind of hard to just drop something and give it to them at the moment.”

5/7 Players dislike that they have no power over in game timing

“Time is very different [in multiplayer] than single-player because the timer does not stop during certain frames. So things in general move a little faster because when you're fishing it doesn't stop, when you're opening your inventory time doesn't stop, or when you're eating something time doesn't stop either.”

“I don’t know how it would be added, but I guess just longer daytime so I'm not rushed in my inventory, at a chest, or in the shop.”

Game Updates

Solutions for item Transfer

Based on the finding that users face issues when attempting to transfer items, we propose two solutions to make this experience more user friendly in different game circumstances.

Near Another player

Players found transferring items to nearby teammates frustrating due to the game’s gravity mechanics. Throwing items often results in the receiver immediately picking them back up, making the process slow and tedious. To address this, we propose enabling a right-click interaction on a nearby player that opens a 3x3 grid inventory. This interface allows quick transfer of multiple items at once, building on existing game interactions and significantly speeding up item sharing.

Right click on another player

3x3 grid opens to send items

Gift animation for confirmation

Across the Map

Traveling across the map to deliver items can consume valuable in-game time, causing unnecessary delays. To solve this, we suggest introducing a homing pigeon mechanic: players can send a single item to another player remotely, with the pigeon physically traveling across the map. This offers a faster—but not instantaneous—item transfer method, preserving game balance while improving convenience.

Buy a pet license and recieve the pigeon and whistle

Call the pigeon to send items

Solutions for Timing issues

Based on the most popular finding that users find difficulties with game timing, we propose two solutions for passive game timing and pause settings for all players.

Day Length Setting

Players reported that in-game days feel noticeably shorter in co-op mode compared to single-player. This is because time continues to pass during conversations and while in menus, whereas in solo play, time pauses. As a result, players often feel rushed and struggle to complete tasks within a single day. To address this, we propose adding a setting that allows players to adjust the length of an in-game day in co-op mode. This customizable option would give players more control over their gameplay experience, helping recover lost time and reduce unnecessary pressure, especially during group coordination.

Buy a pet license and recieve the pigeon and whistle

Universal Pause

Currently, there is no way to pause the game for all players in co-op mode. This creates issues when someone needs to step away or experiences technical difficulties, often leading to missed opportunities or in-game penalties.To address this, we propose a universal pause system. Any player could initiate a pause request, which would prompt the other players to accept or decline. If all players agree, the game would pause for everyone, providing a more flexible and user-friendly co-op experience.

Buy a pet license and recieve the pigeon and whistle

Next Steps

Our research and proposed solutions have laid the groundwork for improving the co-op experience in Stardew Valley, but further testing and iteration are needed to ensure long-term success. To move forward, we recommend a series of actionable next steps focused on deepening our understanding of key issues, refining solutions, and validating their impact through player feedback.

Conduct more research to get a greater understanding of the timing issue

Implement changes in-game according to data gathered and conduct play tests

Gather feedback from play tests and make adjustments as needed

Case study presentation

for all to see!

The final step of this project was to present our research findings and design recommendations to the rest of our Games and UX class. Our team created a structured presentation that walked through our research process, key user insights, and proposed solutions for improving co-op play in Stardew Valley.

The presentation was well received by both peers and instructors. We were praised for the clarity of our insights, the creativity of our proposed features, and the strength of our research methodology. We also received thoughtful feedback on how to further refine our solutions, particularly around balancing gameplay mechanics with player autonomy.

Ultimately, our work earned a passing grade and contributed to a deeper class discussion on how UX research can influence game design decisions in collaborative play environments.

Rock on my friend.